Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
Gibraltarian
The Gibraltarians (Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterran ...
voters were asked whether they wished to either pass under
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
, or remain under
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
sovereignty, with institutions of
self-government
__NOTOC__
Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...
Joe Bossano
Sir Joseph John Bossano (born 10 June 1939) is a Gibraltarian politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1988 to 1996 and Leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party from 1978 to 2011. He served as Leader of the Opposition ...
, travelled to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Integration with Britain Party
The Integration with Britain Party (IWBP) was a political party in Gibraltar. Although it never won an election, it was briefly in power from 1969 to 1972 when Robert Peliza of the IWBP was Chief Minister.
History
The party was established in ...
(IWBP). In order to generate popular support for self-determination they held the first National Day at
John Mackintosh Square
John Mackintosh Square (colloquially The Piazza) is a main square in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It has been the centre of city life since the 14th century and takes its name from John Mackintosh, a local philanthropist. Notab ...
(the ''Piazza'') on 10 September 1992 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the day the 1967 sovereignty referendum was held on. Coincidentally, the 10 September was also the day the
Gibraltar Legislative Council
The Gibraltar Legislative Council was the legislature of Gibraltar created in 1950 and sat until the creation of the Gibraltar House of Assembly in 1969.
History
Prior to 1950, the Governor-in-Council retained the legislative power in the then Cr ...
became representative and responsible for internal affairs in 1964.
The first National Day was so successful that the avalanche of people that spontaneously turned up could not fit into John Mackintosh Square. The
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
then took the responsibility of providing some help organising the event, since it fostered the right to self-determination that the Gibraltarians had been demanding at the United Nations since 1963. Therefore, the Government declared the 10 September a
public holiday
A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.
Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history ...
and gave the SDGG a
grant
Grant or Grants may refer to:
Places
*Grant County (disambiguation)
Australia
* Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia
United Kingdom
* Castle Grant
United States
* Grant, Alabama
* Grant, Inyo County, ...
for them to administer. In 1993 the venue was changed to the larger
Grand Casemates Square
Grand Casemates Square (colloquially Casemates Square or Casemates) is the larger of the two main squares within the city centre of Gibraltar (the other being John Mackintosh Square). The square takes its name from the British-built Grand Cas ...
, until it was again changed in 1998 to the even larger Naval Ground.
Spanish Government
gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua
, image =
, caption = Logo of the Government of Spain
, headerstyle = background-color: #efefef
, label1 = Role
, data1 = Executive power
, label2 = Established
, da ...
to self-determination combined with the negative posture of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, strengthened the resolution of the vast majority of the Gibraltarians to press ahead for their
decolonisation
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...
by the year 2000 in accordance with the high principles of the Charter and the target date set by the United Nations to eradicate
colonialism
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...
.
Instead, the
British Foreign Secretary
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen ...
Jack Straw
John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...
, proposed joint sovereignty with Spain, which further intensified the sense of
national identity
National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...
reinforced by the National Day.
The 10th National Day, held in 2001 included a speech by William Serfaty, the then leader of the SDGG, which stressed the themes of national identity, unity, resisting Spanish pressure and decolonisation.
Changes to format
Subsequent National Days have comparatively been quieter affairs with fewer invited guests and shorter political speeches. In 2007 the running of the
political rally
A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formati ...
was taken over by the Government from the SDGG. In July 2008 the Government announced they would change the format of National Day to take effect the same year. The main change was their decision to no longer organise a political rally. The reason given was to emphasise civic celebration of Gibraltar rather than political revindication. Other changes included relocating the main event to the smaller John Mackintosh Square from Grand Casemates Square, appointing the
Mayor of Gibraltar
The Mayor of Gibraltar is the ceremonial official of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The mayor is appointed by the elected Members of ParliamentGibraltar Medallion of Honour
The Gibraltar Medallion of Honour (GMH) is a civil award scheme established by the Government of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Its creation was announced in July 2008 by Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana. It ranks below t ...
and the reading of the Gibraltar National Day Declaration.
Observances
The official Gibraltar National Day events begin with a children’s
fancy dress
A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Western culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock char ...
competition held at the lobby of the Parliament building in Main Street followed by a
street party
A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...
at John Mackintosh Square where food and drink stalls are set up providing Gibraltarian food such as calentita. Later a selected school choir sings songs with a Gibraltar theme, namely ''
Llévame Donde Nací
Llévame Donde Nací ( en, Take Me Back To Where I Was Born) is the title of a traditional Spanish language patriotic song about Gibraltar attributed to Gibraltarian, guitarist and composer Pepe Roman.Virgencita de Europa''. This is followed by the main event, the Mayor's recitation of the names of the recipients of the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour and the reading of the Gibraltar National Day Declaration from atop the City Hall's balcony. This was previously followed by the traditional release from atop the Parliament building of 30,000 red and white
balloon
A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...
s, representing Gibraltar's population, which had featured on this day since 1992. The balloon release tradition has been ended in 2016 due to the threat that it poses to wildlife, marine wildlife in particular. In the meantime, the school choir leads the general public in the singing of the
Gibraltar Anthem
The "Gibraltar Anthem" is the national song of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
In common with the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies and other British territories, the official national anthem of Gibraltar is "God Save the King". ...
bouncy castle
Bounce or The Bounce may refer to:
* Deflection (physics), the event where an object collides with and bounces against a plane surface
Books
* Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books
Broadcasting, film and TV
* ''B ...
s and
fairground ride
Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment.
Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...
s is then held at Grand Casemates Square. There is live music is played all afternoon at Governor’s Parade (the ''Piazzella'') and the Rock on the Rock Club, all free of charge, as opposed to the
Gibraltar Music Festival
The Gibraltar Music Festival, as of 2017 known as MTV Presents Gibraltar Calling, is an annual pop music festival held in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The Government of Gibraltar's Ministry of Culture confirmed on 10 August 201 ...
a paid event leading up to national day.
Since 2007, there has been a
verbena
''Verbena'' (), also known as vervain or verveine, is a genus in the family Verbenaceae. It contains about 150 species of annual and perennial herbaceous or semi-woody flowering plants. The majority of the species are native to the Americas a ...
for the older members of the community.
The day culminates with a half-hour-long synchronised
fireworks
Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...
Gibraltar Harbour
The Port of Gibraltar, also known as Gibraltar Harbour, is a seaport in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was a strategically important location during the Napoleonic Wars and after 1869 served as a supply point for ships travelling ...
at night followed by a
rock concert
A rock concert is a performance of rock music.
During the 1950s, several American musical groups experimented with new musical forms that fused country music, blues, and swing genre to produce the earliest examples of "rock and roll." The coin ...
.
Political rally
In 2008, the Government announced that it would change the format of ''Gibraltar National Day'' celebrations with effect from this year. This followed the new Constitution in which Britain recognised Gibraltar's right to self-determination. The changes to the format were intended to emphasise Gibraltar's civic celebration rather than political revindication. There would be a gathering of the community at John Mackintosh Square for a collective celebratory event.
The SDGG returned from its state of inactivity and organised a political rally at Grand Casemates Square featuring the leader of the SDGG, and those of the Opposition political parties:
Liberal Party of Gibraltar
The Liberal Party of Gibraltar (Libs or LPG) is a liberal political party in Gibraltar. It was founded in 1991 as the Gibraltar National Party and is led by Dr. Joseph Garcia. The LPG forms the GSLP–Liberal Alliance in partnership with the Gi ...
and the Progressive Democratic Party. The event was scheduled to last a maximum of 30–45 minutes, allowing those participating to attend the main event of civic functions held at John Mackintosh Square. Speeches were short (around 5 minutes) kept to the leader of the SDGG and those of the other three parties. The event was well attended and seen as a success.
The
GSD
GSD may refer to:
Schools
* Georgia School for the Deaf, in Cave Spring, Georgia, United States
* Harvard Graduate School of Design
Science and medicine
* Genetic significant dose
* Global Species Database
* Glutathione synthetase deficiency
* ...
Government did not send a representative as they considered the main rally held at John Mackintosh Square to be the only ''official'' one.
Peter Caruana
Sir Peter Richard Caruana, (born 15 October 1956) is a Gibraltarian former politician who served as Chief Minister of Gibraltar from 1996 to 2011 and Leader of the Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD) from 1991 to 2013.
Caruana is a barrister by pr ...
announced that the Government would establish a civic award scheme, to be known as the
Gibraltar Medallion of Honour
The Gibraltar Medallion of Honour (GMH) is a civil award scheme established by the Government of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Its creation was announced in July 2008 by Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana. It ranks below t ...
, which would be awarded by
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
The 2009 recipients of the Gibraltar Medallion of Honour were:
* Jose Netto – for services to
trade unionism
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...
public services
A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...
and services to
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
;
*
Joseph Gaggero
Joseph Gaggero Order of the British Empire, CBE, Gibraltar Medallion of Honour, GMH, KHS, KFO, (20 November 1927 – 10 February 2012) was a Gibraltarian people, Gibraltarian businessperson, businessman. He was president of Bland Group, The ...
– for services to
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
,
shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...
,
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
and
commerce
Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...
;
* Maurice Xiberras – for public services and services to politics.
Declaration
Since 2008, a Gibraltar National Day declaration is read by the Mayor of Gibraltar at a civic rally held at outside the City Hall. It was first read out publicly by Mayor
Solomon Levy
Solomon "Momy" Levy MBE JP (26 October 1936 – 22 December 2016), was a Gibraltarian estate agent and the Mayor of Gibraltar. He held office from 1 August 2008 to 31 July 2009.
A member of the Gibraltarian Jewish community, Levy was the ne ...
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...